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LACMA building 700-ton crane to install 'Levitated Mass' boulder

March 15, 2012 | 6:27
pm

How do you lift a really heavy rock? First, you need an even heavier crane.

Michael Heizer's "Levitated Mass" -- the 340-ton boulder that recently completed an 11-day trek across Southern California -- will be lifted into place at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art using a 700-ton crane.

The L.A. Now blog reported Thursday that the massive crane is being constructed in order to lift the rock onto a 456-foot-long slot constructed on the grounds of the museum's north lawn. It will likely be two months before "Levitated Mass" is ready to be viewed by the public.

Heizer's rock was excavated from a site in Riverside County. The art piece will be situated on parkland and will therefore be free to view for the public, the museum told The Times.

A security fence has been erected around the construction site as LACMA crews work on the installation. The museum said the completed site will feature a granite landscape intended to resemble the original quarry.